The Hype feature is one of YouTube’s most notable recent innovations aimed at supporting small and mid-sized content creators. It allows viewers to actively participate in promoting newly published videos, helping them reach a wider audience. This feature addresses a common challenge faced by emerging channels: breaking through YouTube’s complex algorithm, which often favors large and well-established creators. With Hype, fans become real partners in the success of their favorite creators.

What Is the Hype Feature?

Hype is an in-platform promotional tool on YouTube that allows viewers to tap a dedicated button below a video to give it an extra boost in visibility and discovery. It is primarily designed to support small and mid-sized channels by helping them compete and increasing their chances of reaching new viewers.

When Hype is enabled, viewers can support videos during a limited time window after publication, increasing the likelihood that these videos will appear in discovery-focused sections across the platform.

The feature is based on a simple and effective system. A “Hype” button appears below newly published long-form videos (excluding Shorts) that are no more than seven days old and belong to eligible channels. When a viewer presses the button, the video receives additional points. These points accumulate weekly and help the video climb a country-specific weekly leaderboard known as the Hype Leaderboard, which appears in the Explore section of the YouTube app.

To ensure fairness, creators with fewer subscribers receive bonus points, giving smaller channels a better chance to compete with larger ones. Videos that receive significant hype may display a “Supporter” badge, and viewers can filter their home feed to show only hyped videos. Viewers can also share their hype through a public post on their Community tab, further increasing reach and exposure.

Each viewer receives three free hype actions per week, which reset every Monday. These can be used on a single video or distributed across multiple videos. In some countries, YouTube is testing the option to purchase additional hype actions, which may open the door to new monetization opportunities in the future.

Who Can Use the Hype Feature?

The Hype feature is exclusively available to channels that are part of the YouTube Partner Program and have between 500 and 500,000 subscribers. Once a channel exceeds this range, it automatically becomes ineligible. The feature is currently supported in dozens of countries worldwide, including the United States, the United Kingdom, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, and many European and Latin American countries.

The feature is enabled by default for eligible channels, but creators can choose to disable it through advanced settings in YouTube Studio. Ineligible videos include age-restricted content, private videos, content made for kids, and live streams while they are actively live.

Not all channels are automatically eligible. Typically, the feature is available to channels that:

• Comply with YouTube’s policies
• Have a subscriber count within the small to mid-sized range
• Participate in the YouTube Partner Program or meet similar requirements
• Are located in regions where the feature is supported

If a channel is not eligible, the Hype option will not appear in its settings.

How Can a Creator Allow Viewers to Use Hype?

If a channel is eligible, the Hype feature is usually enabled by default. This means viewers will automatically see the Hype button under eligible videos without any additional action required.

Creators can verify that the feature is enabled by:

• Opening YouTube Studio
• Navigating to channel settings or the monetization section
• Ensuring that the option to allow viewers to promote content is turned on

Once enabled, viewers can immediately start supporting videos.

How to Disable the Hype Feature

Some creators may prefer not to use Hype due to their content strategy or channel goals. In this case, the feature can be disabled easily by:

• Opening YouTube Studio in a web browser
• Going to Settings
• Accessing Advanced Channel Settings
• Turning off the option that allows viewers to promote content

After disabling the feature, the Hype button will no longer appear for viewers, and no new videos will be eligible for hype.

Benefits of the Hype Feature for Creators

• Increased visibility for newly published videos
• Encourages direct audience engagement
• Helps emerging channels reach a wider audience
• Strengthens the relationship between creators and their communities

For creators, Hype provides a real boost in visibility and views, especially during the crucial first weeks after publishing. This helps attract new audiences without relying solely on the traditional recommendation algorithm. Creators can track hype counts and points through YouTube Studio, where a dedicated analytics card is available.

For viewers, the feature creates a sense of participation in the creator’s success story. They may receive notifications when a hyped video approaches the top of the leaderboard and earn monthly badges for being top supporters.

Important Notes

• The Hype feature may not be available in all countries
• The appearance of the Hype button may vary depending on device type and updates
• Disabling the feature does not negatively affect channel performance; it is purely an administrative choice

Conclusion

The Hype feature represents a new step by YouTube to support content creators, especially small and mid-sized channels. Understanding how this feature works and how to manage it gives creators greater control over how audiences interact with their content, whether by enabling promotion or disabling it based on their overall channel strategy.